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Turnabout Intruder (episode)
A mad scientist tries to take control of Enterprise by switching bodies with Captain Kirk (series finale). Summary :"Captain's Log. Stardate 5928.5. The ''Enterprise has recieved a distress call from a group of scientists on Camus II who were exploring the ruins of a long dead civilization. The situation is desperate. Two of the survivors of the expedition are the surgeon Doctor Coleman, and the leader of the expedition Doctor Janice Lester."'' Kirk records a log entry, detailing the receipt of a distress call from an archaeological expedition on Camus II. The ''Enterprise'' orbits the planet, and a landing party beams down. Kirk finds the expedition doctor, Arthur Coleman, tending to Janice Lester, a woman of Kirk's acquaintance, unconscious and ill. Kirk wanders the chamber, separated from the team, when a device activates, freezing him in position. Lester awakens, and steps onto the machine, a panel with strange inscriptions, opposite Kirk. An effect passes between them, and their life-energy is transferred. The party returns, unaware that Kirk is now in bed in Lester's body. McCoy reports that the rest of the staff on the planet are dead. Coleman testifies that radiation killed them. McCoy thinks celebium is responsible, but Coleman disagrees, preventing McCoy from beginning a treatment on Janice. The team returns to Enterprise, and Lester assumes command, in Kirk's body. Kirk, in Lester's body, continues to hover near death, in Coleman's opinion, even though McCoy could find no evidence of the radiation Coleman spoke of. Lester knows that Coleman sent the researchers purposely out to where the celebium shielding was weak. :(Log entry made by Janice Lester, acting as Captain James T. Kirk) :"James Kirk is returning to consciousness in the body of Janice Lester. The ''Enterprise is proceeding to its next mission, on the course set for it before I took over command. Now the years I spent studying every single detail of the ship's operation will be tested. With a little experience, I will be invulnerable to suspicion. At last I attained what is my just due - command of a starship. All the months of preparation now come to fruition."'' The impostor Kirk orders a course change for a hospital on Benecia colony, even though Spock points out a course for Starbase 2 would yield a better radiation treatment, and have the advantage of not delaying the scheduled rendezvous with ''Potemkin'' in the Beta Aurigae system. The new Kirk grows angry at the crew's questions of his illogical orders. ]] Dr. McCoy informs Kirk that Coleman is an incompetent doctor, that he was relieved of duty as a chief medical officer on a starship. McCoy questions Kirk's agreement with the Benecia course for Lester's treatment. While the transferred Lester tries to convince sickbay visitors she isn't who she appears to be, the crew begins to question Kirk more and more. :(Log entry made by Captain James T. Kirk, acting as Janice Lester) :"Captain's Log, stardate unknown. I have lost track of time. I am still held captive in a strange body and separated from all my crew." Kirk, in Lester's body, attempts to leave sickbay and is placed under guard. Spock attempts to examine her for evidence of the transference when he is forced to overpower her security; Kirk happens upon the scene and charges Spock with mutiny. :(Log entry made by Janice Lester, acting as Captain James T. Kirk) :"Captain's Log, Stardate 5930.3. The results of Dr. McCoy's examination have given me complete confidence in myself. My fears are past. I shall function freely as the Captain. I am the Captain of the ''Enterprise, in fact."'' A court martial is convened and attempts to sentence him to death. The staff resists the captain's orders, and the personalities begin to revert. Eventually, a full-out mutiny ends up wringing the panicky Lester from Kirk's body altogether. Dr. McCoy leads Doctors Coleman and Lester away from the brig, as Dr. Coleman has offered to care for Dr. Lester. Memorable Quotes "You do not belong in command of the ''Enterprise. And I will do everything in my power against you." : - 'Spock' "''Suppose you voted with me in favor of Spock. That's two to one and Spock is free. What do you think the Captain will do?" "I don't know." "You know, all right. The vote will stick in his craw. He'll never accept it." "We don't know that." "I tell you, he won't. Then, Doctor, that's the time we move against him. We'll have to take over the ship." "We're talking about a mutiny, Scotty." "Aye. Are you ready for the vote?" "I'm ready for the vote." : - Scott and McCoy Background Information * This is the final episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. * Regular blonde Christine Chapel appears as a brunette in this episode, possibly as a nod to Number One, also played by Majel Barrett. * Uhura is the only regular character absent in this, the final episode. The actress, Nichelle Nichols, had a singing engagement at the time. * After two years on the series, Roger Holloway finally gets to speak dialogue – all of two words. His character's name (Lemli) was the same as William Shatner's license plate at the time, a mixture of his daughters' (Leslie, Melanie, Lisabeth) names. * Although the briefing room is never shown to have more than one exit, Janice/Kirk finds some way to leave the room without using the main door after her temper-tantrum. The cast in fact got into an argument with director Herb Wallerstein over this error (he won), showing they greatly cared about their series, even as it was coming to an end. * Dr. Coleman wears one of the ubiquitous orange jumpsuits seen in "The Devil in the Dark", "By Any Other Name", "The Empath" and "The Lights of Zetar." * Apparently no longer playing Lieutenant Galloway, who was killed by Ronald Tracey in The Omega Glory, David L. Ross reprises his role as Lieutenant Johnson in Day of the Dove in this episode. * The glass canister in McCoy's lab contains a very strange brown blob in this episode, probably a humanoid brain. * The name of the planet Camus II may have been a reference to French writer Albert Camus and his novel "The Stranger"--an appropriate nod to this episode. * The planet Benecia is pronounced differently in this episode than it was in "The Conscience of the King", i.e. "beh-NEE-shee-a" as opposed to "beh-neh-SEE-a". * There is a detailed account of the filming of this episode in the 1975 book, Star Trek Lives! Co-author Joan Winston had the opportunity to spend six days on the set while "Turnabout Intruder" was being shot. Winston wrote that Shatner was very ill with the flu at the time, and had considerable difficulty in picking up and carrying Sandra Smith, the actress who played Dr. Lester for take after take. * This episode was inspired by Thorne Smith's 1931 comedic novel Turnabout, in which a husband and wife switch bodies. That novel also inspired a short-lived 1979 TV series that starred Sharon Gless and John Schuck. * In this episode, Kirk mentions the events of two previous episodes ("The Empath" and "The Tholian Web") to Spock. * The set crew's nickname for this show was "Captain Kirk, Space Queen." * The final four episodes of the series opened with the same music cue, taken from the opening titles of "Spock's Brain" and the final two episodes ended with the closing music cue from "Elaan of Troyius." * Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and Majel Barrett (Nurse Christine Chapel) are the only actors to appear in both this episode and first pilot "The Cage." * Leonard Nimoy is the only actor to appear in every episode of the series. Production Timeline * Story outline: * First draft script was done , final draft script was done 20 December and revised 30 December, with filming beginning the next day. * The final scene ever filmed for the original series was of William Shatner and Sandra Smith in front of the alien transferrence machine. * Even as filming was wrapping up, crew members were dismantling the Enterprise sets. Filming was completed on . * A scheduled airdate of was pre-empted by news coverage of the death of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower. This episode was not aired until 3 June for that reason. Links and References *VHS edition available through Amazon under ISBN 6300988759. Arthur Coleman]] Main Cast * William Shatner as James Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy * James Doohan as Montgomery Scott * George Takei as Hikaru Sulu * Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov * Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel Guest Stars * Sandra Smith as Janice Lester * Harry Landers as Dr. Coleman * Barbara Baldavin as Lisa (credited as Communications officer) * David L. Ross as Johnson * John Boyer as a Guard * Roger Holloway as Lemli (uncredited) References archaeology; Benecia; Benecia colony; Beta Aurigae system; Camus II; Camus system; celebium; celebium shielding; court martial; death penalty; General Order 4; life-energy transfer; Minara; mutiny; ''Potemkin'', USS; Robbiani dermal-optic test; Starbase 2; Starfleet Headquarters; Starfleet Regulations; Surgeon General; Tholian; Vians; Vulcan mind meld External Links * Category:TOS episodes de:Gefährlicher Tausch es:Turnabout Intruder nl:Turnabout Intruder